Chapter 13 of Pierre is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Pierre is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THEY DEPART THE MEADOWS. I. It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn. He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch. "Now then, Isabel, is all ready?
Chapter 13 of Pierre is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
happiness felt in a secure relationship
From this reading “It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.”
move away from a place into another direction
From this reading “THEY DEPART THE MEADOWS.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.”
plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading “THEY DEPART THE MEADOWS.”
capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
From this reading “It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.”
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading “He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.”
to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
From this reading “It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.”
any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading “It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "Now then, Isabel, is all ready?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
happiness felt in a secure relationship
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.
move away from a place into another direction
From this reading THEY DEPART THE MEADOWS.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Now then, Isabel, is all ready?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Now then, Isabel, is all ready?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
and nothing more
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading THEY DEPART THE MEADOWS.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now then, Isabel, is all ready?
capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading "Now then, Isabel, is all ready?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading He met his sister shawled and bonneted in the porch.
to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THEY DEPART THE MEADOWS.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Now then, Isabel, is all ready?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THEY DEPART THE MEADOWS.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
any of various kinds of wheeled vehicles drawn by an animal or a tractor
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
at the time that
From this reading It was just dusk when Pierre approached the Ulver farm-house, in a wagon belonging to the Black Swan Inn.
Chapter 13 of Pierre by Herman Melville holds 51 sentences, grouped into 11 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 13 holds 51 sentences of Pierre, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Pierre by Herman Melville exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 51 sentences, grouped into 11 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 13 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Pierre by Herman Melville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6047 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34970 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34970, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 503 minutes of reading across 1210 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Pierre section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Pierre to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Pierre, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
